1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to printing over a network using a credit card as a means of identification. More specifically, the present invention relates to uploading a print job consisting of print data and associated credit card information onto a network server and retrieving the print job from the server at a printer by using a credit card as a means of identifying the person printing the job.
2. Description of the Related Art
Uploading print data over a network such as the Internet to have the print job printed at a remote location has become increasingly popular. For instance, some computer users desire to submit print jobs over the Internet to a print shop to have the print job printed out by the print shop. This may be the case where, for example, a computer user may not have a printer at home or in his office to print his work or, where he may have a printer, but the printer is not capable of producing the type of printout he wants. For instance, a user may have a printer that only prints black and white printouts but the user may want to print a color image, or he may want to print a large volume of printouts but does not want to expend his own printer and paper resources doing so. In either case, one option may be for the user to submit the print job over the Internet to a print shop that has the capability of producing the desired printout.
One example of an Internet print shop is provided by Kinkos®. In a print shop approach such as Kinkos®, a user logs-on to the Kinkos® website and uploads a file so that it can be printed and delivered by a selected Kinkos® store. The user first generates a file to be uploaded using an application program (e.g. a word processing or spreadsheet program) and after having saved the file, the user activates a web browser application on his computer to access the Kinkos® website.
In order to submit a print job for printing over the Internet with the Kinkos® system, the user selects a print option in the Kinkos® website and navigates a series of steps for submitting the print job. These steps include inputting information for uploading, inputting finishing options, specifying the recipients, specifying how the finished product is to be delivered and providing payment information. In the uploading step, the user selects the file or files that are to be uploaded to Kinkos® for printing. Once the user has selected the file or files to be uploaded, the user is prompted to enter various finishing options. Some of the finishing options include a black and white printout, a color printout and various binding options.
After the user enters at least one finishing option, he is prompted to either register with Kinkos® (i.e. create a new account) or input his existing account information such as an email address and a password. In registering to create a new account, the user provides identification information such as an email address, first and last name, a password, and a company name and address. Once the user has registered or entered their existing account information, the user is prompted to enter the recipients of the finished product. The user can select one or more recipients from an address book or he can enter a new recipient.
After having specified the recipients, the user is prompted to specify a delivery option. Various delivery options may be selected such as in store pickup of the hardcopy print job at a specified Kinkos® store, or to have the hardcopy print job delivered to a recipient's home, office or to some other specified location.
After having selected a delivery option, the user is prompted to input payment information such as a credit card number. Once the user has entered the payment information, he confirms his purchase, whereby the designated file to be printed is uploaded to Kinkos®.
Finally, after having uploaded the file and payment information to Kinkos®, the selected Kinkos® store processes the print job to generate the finished hardcopy product. After the hardcopy is printed, it is either held at the Kinkos® store until the recipient arrives to pick it up, or it is delivered to the specified recipient, depending on the delivery option selected.
Thus, in the Kinkos® system a user uploads a file and credit card information for payment to Kinkos® whereby the file is processed by a Kinkos® store to generate a hardcopy printout that is either picked-up by a recipient at the store or delivered to a recipient's home, office or some other location. Accordingly, the Kinkos® system requires that the user wait until Kinkos® can process the print job before it can be retrieved and as such, the user has no control over when or where he can retrieve his print job. That is, the user can not simply retrieve his uploaded print job at a printer any time he wants, but must wait for Kinkos® to process the print job and have the job delivered or go to the store to pick it up.
Additionally, if the user changes his mind after he has uploaded his print job and decides not to have the print job printed out (for example, if the user has made a change to the file that was uploaded), he must contact the Kinkos® store that he has selected to process the job and cancel the print request before the job is processed. Otherwise, the user may be charged for processing the print job.
Further, once the recipient uploads the print job and specifies the delivery options, if he changes his mind and wants the print job delivered to a different location, he must contact the Kinkos® store that he has selected to process the print job and notify them of the change.
As can readily be seen from the foregoing, the Kinkos® system has very little flexability for the user once the print job has been uploaded. That is, once the user uploads the file for printing, the user is not able to simply retrieve the printout at a location convenient to him at a time that is convenient to him.
Another system which provides for a user to submit a print job for printing over a network has been described in co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/411,665 entitled “Authenticated Secure Printing”, filed on Oct. 4, 1999 (hereinafter referred to as the '665 application). The '665 application describes a system in which print data and recipient identification information (commonly known as a distinguished name contained in a digital certificate) are transmitted from a personal computer to a print node via a secure transmission protocol such as SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) or TLS (Transport Layer Security). As described in the '665 application, the recipient's identification information is obtained either from a smartcard or via a public key infrastructure. Upon receipt of the print data and recipient identification information, the print node performs an encryption algorithm to encrypt both the print data and the identification information and securely stores both without printout until the print node receives authentication from the intended recipient.
In order to retrieve the print data and have it printed at a printer, the person holding the proper recipient authentication information (such as the smartcard as described in the '665 application), presents the authentication information to the printer. Once the smartcard is presented at the printer, the recipient's identification information is used to authenticate the recipient and the stored encrypted print data is decrypted and printed on the printer.
Thus, the system of the '665 application provides a way for the user to upload a print job and recipient identification information using a smartcard and for the recipient holding the proper authentication information to retrieve the print job at a printer using a smartcard. However, smartcards are not generally available to or used by the general population and therefore, the '665 application's system is somewhat limited in its practicality. That is, smartcards are generally available only to employees of companies that may utilize such a system and are not carried by the general public. As a result, the number of users who can take advantage of the '665 application's system is somewhat limited.
Moreover, implementation of a smartcard system such as that described in the '665 application requires that a public key infrastructure be implemented and that a smartcard reader or other means of inputting a digital certificate of the recipient be implemented at each computer for which the print data is to be submitted from. Accordingly, while the system described in the '665 application may be sufficient within a corporation where the number of users is limited to a few hundred or even a few thousand, the cost of such a system may be prohibitively high for worldwide implementation for use by the general public.